As someone involved in community organizing/direct action activism, I was enraged at the dismissive, elitist words and tone used by Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin during their convention speeches this week. How can a party talk about “country first” while mocking the efforts of ordinary folks to bring their communities out of despair? Apparently, according to the Republicans, the only way one can put their “country first” is by killing people. Apparently dropping napalm is a more valuable service to America than I thought?
One of my favorite CNN.com columnists, Roland Martin hits the nail right on the head with this piece where he says “So when Rudy Giuliani and Palin mock community organizers, they don’t just toss a barb at Sen. Barack Obama . . . they degrade the women who fought for their rights. They disrespect the labor activists and immigrant worker activists like Cesar Chavez. They dismiss those in the civil rights movement — folks from small town America who were sick and tired of being sick and tired. They thumb their noses at the Nelson Mandelas of the world who want a better life for their children. It would have been perfectly fine for Giuliani and Palin to say that Obama’s community organizing days didn’t amount to enough experience to be president. But when you openly laugh and mock those hard-working Americans who are in the trenches every day, then you really don’t care about “Country First” or service.”
So who is elitist now, John McCain, with your $500 Italian leather loafers and more houses than you can even count? You came from privalege and you still serve privalege and no amount of flag waving is going to change that fact.
September 5th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
Joe- great blog post. The GOP should ask itself WWJD? Seems J was quite the community activist and organizer.
September 5th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
If it weren’t for the fact that I’m actually part of the PTA and kinda appreciate it, I’d respond by saying that PTA is kinda like Harvard, but it involves an actual education!
The comparisons are that stupid.
Sadly, Palin, Giuliani and others think that insulting their opponents is the only way to get elected - and with the policies (or lack thereof) that they’re promoting, it probably is. It’s sad that now McCain is attempting to go back to the middle with his promises of aisle-crossing and bipartisanship in his speech last night, while meanwhile his operatives, including his running mate, are behaving in exactly the opposite fashion. It’s funny - McCain was the one during the primaries promising to run a highbrow campaign, free of the personal attacks and vitriol that have filled politics over the last 20 years. In fact, during his speech, he refused to respond to protesters by saying that Americans “want us to stop yelling at each other”. Dude, are you paying any attention? You run the party right now - tell them to shut the hell up!!
And J was indeed a community activist, known best for fighting the conservative status quo, standing up for the little guy, and forgiving sinners. The only ones he’s recorded as passing judgement on in the New Testament were the hypocrites hijacking religion in order to exert power over others. Hmm…
September 6th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Word has it in the politico world that the Obama camp has been generating a LOT of new green due to the “backlash” from Palin’s, Giuliani’s and the whole GOP slew of distorted speeches and name-calling. (I haven’t donated much at all for the Obama camp but Palin sent me over the edge this week). So what truly comes around will go around - and I’m sure any decent or semi-smart American will overlook McCain’s/Palin’s authoritianist, finger-pointing smear tactics. Well, let’s hope at any rate. For any politician to mock the idea of “hope” for the everyday volunteer, it’s like shooting themselves in the foot: They should never run for office to begin with.
September 8th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
kevin, over at slanttruth.com, is collecting a bunch of posts on community organizing. you should check it out and leave him a note!